How Pierre Cardin became a brand with more than 800 licenses in its name
Angèle Chatelier with AFP edited by Guilhem Dedoyard, modified at
The famous French fashion designer Pierre Cardin died on Tuesday at the age of 98. For 70 years, he built a commercial empire, relying on numerous licenses in his name that he sold at exorbitant prices, even if it meant diluting the quality of his brand.If Pierre Cardin was the man with colorful, futuristic clothes, he was also a businessman. One of the most famous French couturiers, who died Tuesday at the age of 98, leaves behind an empire, in fashion but not only. The creator has made his name a brand: perfume, cigarettes, mineral water and even kitchen knives. "I have expanded into all areas and my name has flooded the whole world, thanks to my licenses which ensure real solidity to the company", he explained in 2019. A winning position which allowed him to grow rich . But damaged its brand image.
A proliferation of double-edged licenses
Pierre Cardin has thus succeeded in making his brand grow thanks to the licensing system: companies paid to have his name on their products and received a share from him on each sale. The couturier-businessman started with ties, before building over the years an empire that declines his name ad infinitum: shirts, sheets, mineral water, sewing kit, cultural places, design, through derivatives of the Maxim's restaurant which he owned.
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A choice that came at a cost. "Ubiquity has killed the desirability of the brand. With this infinite multiplication of licenses, it is the value-quality that has suffered. You could find Cardin in any product, anywhere in the world. the world", summarizes for AFP Eric Briones, co-founder of the fashion school "Paris School of Luxury". Its license model pushed to the extreme has even become a textbook case, studied in marketing under the neologism of "cardinization".
A successful establishment in China
In 2011, he explained to Europe 1 to have more than 800 different licenses, in a hundred countries, and especially China, where he has built a veritable kingdom. He thus set foot in China in 1978, becoming one of the first foreign investors to set up in this market.
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He was also the first Western fashion designer to parade in Beijing in 1979. In 2009, however, the house sold part of its empire in China (i.e. around thirty textile and accessory licenses) to Chinese partners for 200 million dollars. euros.
A lucrative marketing choice
"I was a man of administration, an accountant at the same time, so I paid attention to the cost price of everything and I was very serious in my work. As much as I am fanciful in my creations, but very serious in finance", explained then the one who made himself known by iconic pieces such as the bubble dress, the cosmocorps or the look of the Beatles of the 60s.
However, Pierre Cardin is not really recognized by his peers as a couturier because beyond his derivative products, he is also the first to have wanted to make haute couture accessible and to organize fashion shows in large stores. A decried but lucrative choice. "That's how I made a lot of money," he confirmed last July, his fortune was estimated at 600 million euros.
